Priest gets 5 years for molestation

DALLAS (AP) - A Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Rev. Emeh "Anthony" Nwaogu of St. Anthony Catholic Church in South Dallas was sentenced Friday by state District Judge Harold Entz.

He faced a sentence of two to 20 years. He will be eligible for parole in 2 1/2 years.

Defense attorneys asked the judge to give Nwaogu probation and immediately deport him to his native Nigeria to receive treatment.

Because of his felony conviction, Nwaogu - a Nigerian citizen who has been in Dallas since 1993 - will be deported automatically when he completes his sentence.

Defense attorneys and the prosecutor handling the case called the judge's decision a fair one.

"I think justice was done," Assistant District Attorney Robbie McClung said. "The judge took a lot of things into consideration. . . . Now he'll get the sentence he deserves here, and in five years he'll be Nigeria's concern. And hopefully he can get the treatment he needs there."

The victim was assaulted at Nwaogu's home in May while her grandmother and mother cleaned the house for him, according to court records.

In her closing statement Friday, McClung said the victim in this case had a history of being sexually abused before she was adopted and that her adoptive parents told Nwaogu about it.

Mary Edlund, chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, attended the hearing and said the judge's sentence was clear.

"What we've heard today from the courts . . . is that any individual who abuses their position of trust and authority is going to be dealt with very sternly," she said. "And as a church, we hear that message. The Catholic diocese hears that message. Our priority is making our churches and schools safe places for children."

Nwaogu is the ninth priest in the Dallas Catholic Diocese to be accused of child sexual abuse in the 1990s and the second to be arrested.

The other one arrested, Rudolph "Rudy" Kos, is serving a life sentence in state prison. The diocese and its insurers paid about $31 million to settle claims that church leaders covered up his abuse of 11 boys.

More than $5 million was paid to settle claims involving other priests.